Turf Times The newsletter from the Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association (W Bi-Monthly Update March/April Volume 28, No. 1 RPARD otuAon Clean The Skeletons Out of Your Closet! A Safe Way to Dispose of Unwanted Pesticides Have you got mon is the ease with the turf and ornamental the back of the storage some yellow ooze start­ which you can now dis­ “green” industry. In­ room. ing to show through pose of these products, heriting old products, that old jug of stuff thanks to the Michigan changes in the scope of (who knows what it Groundwater Steward­ the business operation, Clean Sweep used to be) in the back ship Program at the label changes and new Program of your pesticide Michigan Department products emerging on The MDA has closet? In a crowded room, rarely do you get “Seven (drop-off sites) are currently available for your call and an anyone to raise their additional four will open in the early summer.” hand to that type of question. Having some of Agriculture (MDA). the market are a few been aggressively pesticides hang around There seems to ways that pesticide building a mechanism a grounds maintenance be a variety of ways in products can become to move old unusable operation is not uncom­ which pesticide prod­ unwanted, fall out of or unwanted pesticides mon. What is uncom­ ucts can accumulate in favor and get pushed to (Continued on page 3) 1999 Ambassador Speakers Program Four members from the gram. This is an out­ tions with local organi­ Kristi Frey GCSAA Northern Michigan area reach program, which zations and schools. Public Relations Man­ are needed for partici­ prepares members to The program is spon­ ager at your earliest op­ pation in the 1999 Am­ educate the public sored by GCSAA, the portunity (800/472- bassador Speaker Pro- about the environ­ Professional Lawn Care 7878 ext. 608, or mental benefits of the Association of America kfrey@gcsaa.org) green industry. Partici­ (PLCAA) and RISE pants agree to complete (Responsible Industry six community presen­ for a Sound Environ­ tations and/or media ment). placements throughout 1999-and have the ad­ If you would be inter­ vantage of working ested or know someone with a program coordi­ from our chapter who nator to book presenta­ may be, please contact Biodegradable Hydraulic Fluid vs. Annual Bluegrass During the Bluegrass nursery oil leak. Early leaf tip “bounce back” time on spring of 1997, I was green (ouch!) I made damage did occur on the Annual Bluegrass very interested in trying these spills with cold some of the Bentgrass was not evident. I was a new biodegradable fluid before mowing in but much of the leaf tis­ not expecting a miracle hydraulic fluid avail­ the morning and with sue recovered after 30 with this product but able for golf course hot fluid after mowing days. Ninety percent simply testing their equipment. My re­ for 3 of the Annual Blue­ claims of a two week search with the biode­ hours. grass never did recover. turf “bounce back”. If gradable oil was fo­ Some Three months later af­ you have performed cused on reducing the spills I ter the biofluid broke any research on your crown damage nor­ watered down in the soil, the golf course, please mally caused by petro­ lightly, Annual Bluegrass fi­ share your experiences leum based oils. A par­ some I nally grew in. with fellow NMTMA ticular company adver­ soaked My conclusion members in the news­ tises that turf will re­ heavily is that this biofluid has letter. cover or “bounce back” and some I didn’t water many beneficial envi­ in two weeks after a at all. ronment qualities, how­ Article Courtesy of: Steve Hammon, NMTMA hydraulic spill occurs The turf showed ever, the “bounce back” Board Member while using their bio­ signs of normal leaf tip time on the Bentgrass Traverse City Golf & Country fluid. We replaced our bum within two days was one month and the Club conventional hydraulic and after one week the oil with biodegradable light, heavy and misted 1999 NMTMA Mini-Conf. oil in a triplex mower. hydraulic spills all had Monday April 5 at the Grayling Holiday Inn As recommended, we significant damage. Contact Kay Patrick to make your reservation! followed their intensive None of the watered or Guest Speakers to include: eight step flushing pro­ non-watered spills were Paul Emling, Arcadia Bluffs cedure exactly. noticeably different nor Brian Ursu, Prime Vest Financial Serv. I performed my were the cold and hot Dr. Dave Smitley, M.S.U. Biofluid testing in May. fluid trials any differ­ Dr. Baird, M.S. U. We simulated many ent. The Annual Blue­ Dr. Rieke, M.S. U. different light, heavy grass was more se­ Greg Lyman, M.S. U. and misted fluid leaks verely injured than the David Gilstrap, M.S.U. across my Penncross Bentgrass. The similar John Garletts, Spartan Distributors Bentgrass/Annual to a petroleum based Phone Tree Your Board of a “phone tree” ments notice. It has another 2-3 days before Directors is always The phone tree been determined that you receive it. With the looking for ways to easily hooks into a PC for us to send out a phone tree we will now save your association and is used as a com­ single piece of first be able to contact you on money and time with­ munications tool for its class mail out is bt. 50 the same day with any out sacrificing a quality members and their to 55 cents per letter. communication we want product. We feel we phone numbers we will Also, by the time Kay you to be informed about. have done just that by now be able to contact sends it out from our We have just switched purchasing a unit called you by phone at a mo­ Lansing address it is (Continued on page 4) President’s Message As time draws near for a duces the amount of time I spend N.M.T.M.A. schedule this sea­ new golf season to begin, I find with the children. However it al­ son that promotes this theme, is myself in the familiar position of lows me to get back on the the picnic set for July 11th at preparing to return to work. Be­ course, doing something I really Beaver Creek Resort. Bring your ing laid off for a few months has enjoy, in surroundings that I family and spend a fun filled day its advantages and disadvan­ wouldn't want to trade. My point along with your fellow N.M.T. tages. I enjoyed being off for the in all of this is when the golf sea­ M.A. members. holidays, spending time with my son is in full swing, don't forget The N.M.T.M.A. is about wife and children. I was able to to make time for the most impor­ participation - so plan to attend be involved in the kids' school, tant people in your life. When I as many events as possible. See their sporting events, and even spend time with my family, I am you at the mini-conference , taught a science class once a reminded of what is truly impor­ April 5th, at the Grayling Holi­ month at their school. tant in my life. day Inn. Starting back to work re- One of the events on the Brian Holmes ....Disposal of Pesticides (Continuedfrom page 1) users of the products. cooperators. This in­ of a few products accu­ off your storage shelves These include ground cludes unknown pesti­ mulate over time. This and into the hands of maintenance, golf cide products - those project enables every­ disposal professionals. courses, athletic fields, packages which have one to easily dispose of We have conducted municipalities, and no label. To take ad­ those few jugs of prod­ several Clean Sweep homeowners. Those vantage of this system, uct that you just don’t projects in the past five who are in the business simply contact the site plan to use any longer, years for the green in­ of selling pesticide ap- that is closest to your or those that have a big dustry, but the system operation, let them drum of “stuff “ in the just became even eas­ know what you have, comer. Make it work ier. The Groundwater follow their packing for you. A tip of the Stewardship Program and transport direc­ hat is in order for the has been establishing tions, make arrange­ MDA and the Ground- permanent Clean ments to drop them off water Stewardship Sweep disposal sites at the site, and then Program for this proac­ and recently announced drive away with a smile tive approach. that a total of 11 will be knowing that you have Persons inter­ operating in 1998. helped your company, ested in participating in Seven are currently plication services will the environment and the Clean Sweep pro­ available for your call be charged a nominal the industry. gram should contact the and an additional four cost: around $1.00 dol­ In general, site coordinator at the will be open in the lar per pound. This is a green industry opera­ location nearest to early summer. fraction of the cost if tions don’t have large them. you tried to arrange this quantities of unusable The System yourself. Program, a of unwanted pesticide Article Courtesy of: Gregory Now for the incredible T. Lyman grant from the U.S. En­ products hanging Turfgrass Environmental Edu­ news. There is no cost vironmental Protection around in storage cation Specialist for those operations Department of Crop and Soil Agency, and services sheds. More com­ that are considered end Sciences provided by the local monly, small amounts (Continuedfrom page 2) our phone service to Unidial N.M.T.M.A. Scholarship Winner Communications; their rates are only 8.9-9.9 cents per minute 24 hours a day with no minimum Dear N.M.T.M.A. charges. As a result, each time I am writing this letter to thank you and the Northern Michi­ we contact you, it will only cost gan Turf Managers Association for awarding me with your 1999 us a maximum of 10 cents per scholarship. It is a great honor to be recognized by an industry or­ call plus Kay Patrick's time in ganization for my accomplishments at Michigan State University. making the message on the ma­ Being new to the industry, this award will help give me the confi­ chine. We believe this will be of dence to succeed in my future endeavors. The whole scholarship ex­ great service to you, our mem­ perience, from interviewing to the awards banquet at the Michigan bers. Turfgrass Conference, has been a positive experience that I will not Now if an emergency forget. Please accept my sincere gratitude and thanks for being cho­ arises, contact one of your board sen as this years scholarship recipient. members and communicate your I think it is great that your association, as well as others, message to us, we will then be awards up and coming turf management students for their hard work able to contact the rest of our as­ and merit. This practice can only help the industry continue to grow sociation. and strengthen in the years to come. Hopefully, I will have the op­ If you have any questions portunity to help other newcomers to this career field the way your about this company contact me organization has helped me. via e-mail to the below address I look forward to taking part in the N.M.T.M.A. in the future, and I will be happy to answer any since I plan on making my home in Northern Michigan. Thank you of your questions. again. Sincerely, GCSAA Site Tracy D. Edwards Cheboygan, MI 49721 Evaluations The N.M.T.M.A./G.C.S. A.A. is currently looking for Su­ N.M.T.M.A. Member Recognized in perintendents to do site evalua­ tions for certifying superinten­ Orlando dents during the 1999 season. If you are interested in participating On Thursday February 11th at the Michigan hospitality room please contact Brian Holmes at in Orlando Florida, Dave Longfield was honored by the NMTMA for (517) 736-6493. his years of dedicated service. Dave is one of the original members of You must be a CGCS to the NMTMA, number 14. Dave started in the turf industry in 1971 when he became superintendent at West Branch Country Club, and oversaw the building of the back nine. He stayed there until 1980, *Phone Tree #’s* when he became the superintendent at Garland, and was personally Please decide which num­ involved in the construction of 54 of the 72 holes at Garland Resort. ber you would like the “Phone He is a past board member and president of the NMTMA and also Tree ” to dial for information. served six years on the MTF board, two of those years as treasurer. Please contact Kay Patrick and The board of the NMTMA would like to once again thank Dave for let her know at (517) 327-5474 or all his years of service. e-mail heratmtfturf@msn.com. WHEN IS A BALL EMBEDDED? A player's first stroke from the tee rises quickly, strikes a tree limb and rebounds to the teeing ground, where it embeds. Does the player get relief? You'll know by the end of this article. Rule 25-2 spe­ cifically covers situations regarding embedded balls. It reads as follows: A ball embedded in its own pitch- mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green. "Closely mown area" means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less. If a club or association wishes to employ the rule regarding an embedded ball anywhere through the green, regardless of whether it is a closely mown area, then it should adopt the language found in the Local Rules portion in Appendix I of the Rules of Golf. This is a local rule the USGA adopts for all of its competitions and qualifying rounds. If a club does not adopt such a local rule, then a player is only entitled to what Rule 25-2 allows. That rule permits a player relief from an embedded ball in all areas through the green (excluding hazards) except the rough. That reference is confirmed by the phrase "closely mown area." The USGA adopts the lo­ cal rule language to also encompass the rough. At our Rules of Golf Workshops, we are often asked why we don't exclude "closely mown area" in Rule 25-2, which would then eliminate the need for the local rule. The basic answer is that our rules-writing partner, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, does not want to include rough because of the matted grass often found on courses in its jurisdiction. It must be clari­ fied that the rule regarding the embedded ball deals with a ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in ground. Therefore, in the R&A's case, with the matted turf, it is often very difficult to determine if a ball in the rough is embedded in ground or matted turf. There are a couple of additional points of interest to remember regarding the embedded ball: • For a ball to be considered embedded, it must be in its own pitch-mark. • A player may not repair his pitch-mark prior to dropping his ball. (See Decision 13-2/10.) • If a player's ball comes to rest on the fringe of the putting green, he may repair a ball-mark on his line of play on the putting green. (See Rule 16-lc.) But, if a player's ball comes to rest on the fringe of the putting green, may he repair a ball-mark on his line of play if it is located on the fringe? The answer is maybe. If the ball-mark was made by the player's stroke or was there prior to his stroke, the player may not repair it. However, if the pitch-mark was created after his ball arrived on the fringe, he may repair it. (See Decision 13-2/8.) Rule 25-2 provides that a player taking relief for an embedded ball may lift and clean his ball, but he may not repair the pitch-mark prior to dropping his ball or playing his next stroke, assuming the repair would im­ prove his ball's position for his next stroke. The rule also requires the player to drop the ball as near as pos­ sible to where it lay, but not nearer the hole. During the 1985 U.S. Amateur, I was the referee of a quarterfinal match between Jack Kay and de­ fending champion Scott Verplank, whose tee shot at the 12th hole embedded in the middle of the fairway. Proper relief was provided, but when Verplank dropped his ball, it came to rest directly behind his pitch- mark. He immediately looked at me for help, but in fact the ball was in play. Perhaps being a little disgrun­ tled with me, or the rule, he laced a 2-iron onto the green from well over 200 yards and two-putted for his par and a half of the hole. Now for the answer to our opening question. In reading the language of the rule, it seems that our player whose tee shot returned to the teeing ground, where it embedded, would not be entitled to relief with­ out penalty since his ball is not through the green. The USGA Rules of Golf Committee realized, however, even though this situation may never arise, it would look pretty bad to deny relief for this situation, and therefore it wrote Decision 24-2a/3. That decision gives relief under the rule of equity (Rule 1-4). — Tom Meeks (Article submitted off the USGA Web Site) r — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —I — — — « — — « The NMTMA appreciates the support from the following businesses... •IRRIGATION- •FERTILIZER, CHEMICAL & SEED* Rhino Seeds & Landscape Supply Kathleen Hilbert Theilen Turf Irrigation, Inc. Benham Turf Partners (800) 482-3130 / (877) 744-6657 Golf Course Installations Leading the Industry’ in Turf & Ornamental Mgt. (517) 773-3409 (800) 482-6520 •EQUIPMENT, SERVICE & SUPPLIES* Century Rain Aid Tri-Turf D & C Distributors, Inc. Legacy Golf A Warehouse on Wheels Your One Stop Shop (800) 347-4272 (616) 943-8343 / (800) 636-7039 (800) 888-7779 / Fax (248) 446-1654 © •SOD, SOIL, &. CONSTRUCTION* CHIPCO 26 GT GRASS — CRAFT Industries Bob Dugan A Full Line of Hovering Mowers Beck Sod Farm (734) 782-0323 (800) 760-1680 • (207) 878-5353 George or David Beck (800) 968-2325 / Fax (517) 864-3055 Turfgrass Inc. Weingartz Golf <& Turf We Serve You Better Don Alexander Huggett Sod Farm, Inc. (800) 521-8873 (888) 453-8873 • (616) 696-2913 Top Quality' Sod/Bent, Trees & Peat (517) 635-7482 / Fax (517) 635-7484 The Scotts Company Valley Turf Inc. John Skaife Your Reel Support in Northern Michigan Bunting Sand St Gravel Products Inc. (248) 698-2358 (616) 369-3482 • (800) 688-3605 Robert Resteiner (517) 345-2373 Lebanon-Corporate P.I.N. Fertilizer •GOLF CART SALES & SERVICE* The Best Agronomics/ Value Available Tri Turf Soils, Inc. Randy (248) 673-7146 Tire Wholesalers Company-North Precision Made Soils for all Uses Dan Cress - Tires & Tubes (616) 943-7806 / (888) 616-7806 Sweeny Seed Company (616) 775-6666 • Fax (616) 775-8810 It Pays to Plant the Best Apsey Excavating (800)344-2482 (517) 773-5391 Boylan Sales Inc. Tom Apsev Yamaha Golf Cars (517) 724-5010 Turf Chemicals, Inc. (616) 685-6828 • (810) 742-3700 Fertilizers For Better Turf •CONTRACT SERVICES- 517-725-7145 Fax 517-723-7410 E-Z-Go Golf Cars John Roddy Commercial/ Environmental Turf Services United Horticultural Supply 800-336-1016 / 616-938-1118 Distributing Soil Reliever & Terra Topper Finest Product Available Todav (800) 231-5296 / (248) 858-7700 (800) 315-577/ (517)274-8188 •ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN <& CONSULTING- Turf Services, Inc. Green Growth Supply Co., Inc. C.J. Colein & Associates, Inc. Matt Heiss Providing A Balance for All Seasons Carole Colein (616) 842-4975 (800) 315-5777 / 616-878-9922 (248) 656-6805 and we encourage you to support them L J Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association P.O. Box 80086 Lansing, Michigan 48908 Dr. James B. Beard International Sports Turf Box 10065 NMTMA Executive Committee College Station, TX 77842 Brian Holmes President Dan Bissonette Vice President Dan Hunt Treasurer Tom Reed Executive Secretary Karen O’Dell Recording Secretary COLLECTION ! i H1 ! i H I H 1111H111 ) S H 11Ì H ! 111H 111 i HI i 1! 1 i ! i t ! 11 u i